See Jason Sudeikis announce he's leaving 'SNL' on 'Late Show'

CaptionLife after 'SNL'

NBC

"Saturday Night Live" celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. And many former cast members are returning for a reunion. Here's a look at what some of the show's most notable comedy stars have been doing since they left 30 Rock behind.

"Saturday Night Live" celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. And many former cast members are returning for a reunion. Here's a look at what some of the show's most notable comedy stars have been doing since they left 30 Rock behind. (NBC)

"SNL" highlights: His work with the "SNL" digital shorts Post "SNL": Andy Samberg is still a member of comedy/music troupe the Lonely Island and stars in the Fox comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."

"SNL" highlights: His work with the "SNL" digital shorts Post "SNL": Andy Samberg is still a member of comedy/music troupe the Lonely Island and stars in the Fox comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times, NBC)

Sudeikis is the latest in a long line of comedians who have left the sketch comedy showcase. Last year, favorites Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg made their exits. In May, eight-year vet Bill Hader announced he would be leaving as well. Sometime next year, "Weekend Update" anchor and head writer Seth Meyers is expected to depart to take over "Late Night" from "SNL" alum Jimmy Fallon, who's taking over for Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show."

Sudeikis appeared on Letterman's talk show Wednesday to promote his Aug. 7 comedy "We're the Millers," costarring Jennifer Aniston and Emma Roberts. But the host was keen to ask him about the other big job on his resume: "SNL."

"Now, how many years have you been regularly employed at 'Saturday Night Live?'"

"Regularly?" Sudeikis asked. "If you could call it regularly employed, 10 years. Ten years, yeah, yeah."

The comedian, who is engaged to actress Olivia Wilde, has indeed worked on the sketch series for a decade. He started off on the long-running NBC show in 2003 as a writer. He took on a few on-camera roles in 2005 then joined up as a cast regular in 2006. Sudeikis told Letterman that Meyers has been on the show the longest, and that Kenan Thompson joined the cast soon after he himself started there as a writer.

"And how long will a person continue with this, you suppose?" Letterman prodded.

"Now, do they know that? I mean, have you run this by someone?" Letterman asked in that mock, father-knows-best way of his.

"I don't know what kind of ratings you're getting these days, but, I mean, you know, I would hope someone would, you know, would tell them after this point, yeah," the comedian quipped.

"No, you should have called first," Letterman laughed.

"I should have, right?" he replied.

Uh, awkward much?

The pair continued the conversation back and forth with Sudeikis explaining that he still wasn't planning on going back after "SNL's" summer break.

"You start to get that itch probably in August, where all these sketch ideas will show up and I'll be like, 'Well, can I make this sketch idea last 90 minutes and turn it into a movie!?' Probably not. Probably not, yeah."

"Well, so congratulations on a great career over there…. Good for you," Letterman said, with the audience breaking out in applause.

"No, it's been fantastic, yeah. It's been really, really amazing, yeah. I was very, very lucky."